Golf bags



Aug. 12, 1969 N. DALY GOLF BAGS Filed Oct. 23, 1967 FIQI United StatesPatent 3,460,597 GOLF BAGS Noel Daly, 41A Young St., New Plymouth, NewZealand Filed Oct. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 677,482 Claims priority,application New Zealand, Oct. 26, 1966, 146,805 Int. Cl. A63b 55/00 US.Cl. 1501.5 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf club carrier inwhich a casing is provided at its upper part with a plurality ofrecesses for accommodating the heads of clubs supported thereby andmeans for maintaining the heads in their respective recesses. The casinglength is such as to be capable of accommodating the club shafts whenthe heads are seated in the recesses.

This invention relates to carrying bags or cases specifically designedfor carrying a selection or a set of golf clubs and accessories asrequired.

It is known to provide bags or cases having a general tubularconstruction closed at the bottom end and open at the top end, with thetube being of dimensions such that the bag is capable of carrying arequired number of golf clubs, and each golf club is positioned into thebag, shaft first, until the butt of the shaft rests on the bottom orfloor of the bag, with the heads of the clubs being free to swing andmove and contact one another. Further, it is known to incorporate in theaforementioned bag, a nest of tubes or like hollow members, with eachindividual tube providing accommodation for the shaft of one clubwhereby the shafts of the clubs are prevented from contacting eachother, but, unless the width of the bag is of some exceedingly largedimension so that the clubs are spaced at some distance from each other,the heads of the clubs are still free to swing and contact one another.Consequently, due to the movement of the golf club heads and their beingfree to knock against each other, the heads of the clubs suffer damageand receive marks which do little to enhance the appearance of theclubs.

*It is an object of this invention to provide a carrier for golf clubsin which the arrangement and construction of the upper part of thecarrier is such that the head of each club is received and accommodatedin a pocket, recess or like cavity, and the shape of which cavity orrecess conforms or nearly conforms to the shape of the received portionof the head of the club and the length or height of the carrier is suchthat the clubs are supported by their heads with their shafts dependingtoward the bottom of the carrier.

Accordingly by this invention there is provided a carrier for golf clubscomprising a casing having situated at its upper part a club supportingmeans provided with a plurality of recesses adapted to accommodate headsof clubs supported thereby, means whereby the club heads whenaccommodated in their respective recesses are maintained in saidrecesses, and the length of the casing being such that the casing iscapable of accommodating the shafts of the golf clubs when the heads ofthe clubs are seated in the recesses.

The casing is an elongated hollow casing of a length capable ofaccommodating the longest shaft of a set or selection of golf clubs. Thecasing may be made from some suitable material such as is normally usedin the construction of golf bags, namely a textile material, or plasticsmaterial or some other light flexible sheet material. Alternatively, thecasing may be made from some semi-rigid or rigid material capable ofbeing formed into a hollow casing as required. Where the flexiblematerial 3,460,597 Patented Aug. 12, 1969 is not self-supporting, thenprovision may be made for stiffening the casing where necessary.

Situated at the top part of the casing, there is provided the supportingmeans for golf clubs which means takes the form of a substantiallyupwardly facing support surface adapted to be positioned in the upperpart of the casing, said support having molded therein a plurality ofrecesses adapted to receive the heads of golf clubs. The plurality ofrecesses may be formed, shaped, molded or otherwise provided in'saidsupporting means.

. The supporting means maybe maintained in position by securing it tothe casing or by being formed as an integral part of the casing,provision being made for permitting entry of the shafts of the clubsthrough the supporting means and into the interior of the casing.

The upwardly facing surface of the supporting means has formed thereinthe recesses as before described, and preferably, the recesses areformed to accommodate specific clubs, such as for example, four of therecesses may be shaped to conform with the heads of the standard set offour Woods, and depending upon the number of irons, then the requirednumber of recesses conforming to the specific shape of iron club headsis provided in the remainder of said upwardly facing surface of thesupporting means.

The surface may be formed from a resilient material so that there isobtained a cushioning effect when the club heads are accommodated in therecesses.

The supporting means covers the entrance into the casing and in apreferred arrangement extends outwardly from the upper part of thecasing which extension may be part of the carrier construction as willmore particularly be described hereinafter. This construction permits offull support for all the heads of the clubs without necessitating anequivalent girth to the body of the casing.

A cover for the casing is provided, with the cover being adapted to beplaced over the heads of the clubs and maintain the clubs in positionwith. their heads resting in the appropriate recesses, and the coverserves to prevent the club heads from being displaced from theirrecesses. When the surface of the supporting means is a' resilient one,the cover may be arranged so as to contact the club heads just beforethe cover attains the closed position, and the resilience of thematerial permits some little inward movement of the clubs therebyaccommodating the final movement of the cover which arrangement ensuresthe clubs being firmly held in their recesses due to the resilientmaterial endeavoring to regain its relaxed state. Alternatively, thecover may be resilient thereby permitting a degree of movement againstthe resistance of the clubs. The cover may be in the form of a flexiblecover or rigidly formed cover which may be in sections hinged togetherand attached such as by means of a suitable hinge or by hinges to theupper part of the casing, and being provided with fastening meanswhereby the cover, when brought over the head of the casing and theclubs therein, may be fastened and secured as desired. For example, thecover may be provided with a strap or toggle or like portion adapted toengage over a staple or the like. Locking means may be provided wherebythe cover may be locked in place to prevent access to the clubs.

The casing may be provided with a carrying handle, and said handle maybe detachable if desired, and a pocket for garments and like articlesmay be provided together with a support for umbrella.

It is envisaged that the carrier of this invention is particularlyadaptable for use with a golf trundler, and one construction andarrangement of the invention envisaged provides for a pair of wheelsmounted on an axle or on axles, and braces and like members extendingfrom the axle and adapted to engage in sockets or like securing meansprovided in or attached to the carrier. The aforementioned componentsforming part of the golf trundler may be formed in a retractablearrangement so that the components can be hinged and brought inwardly tothe carrier. Compartments providing free space withln the carrier may beprovided and the casing of the carrier may be formed so that accessthereto and into the free space from the sides may be obtained, with theaforementioned arrangement enabling all or some of the parts of thetrundler to be hinged and stowed within the interior of the carrier.Further, the carrier may be provided with a handle which may bedetachable or hingeable and be capable of stowing within the interior ofthe carrier. The sides of the carrier through which the componentsareplaced into the interior of the carrier may be provided with doors orthe like arranged to completely enclose the interior of the carrier. Thedoors may be provided with locking means.

Referring to the cover for the head of the carrier, the cover may haveits interior lined with a resilient material or packing, and if desired,the internal surface of the cover may be provided with recessesconforming to the heads of the clubs contained within the carrier, withthe recesses being complementary to the recesses in the club supportingmeans.

By the foregoing arrangement, the golf clubs are supported by theirheads in a molded nest, with the casing being of a length sufficientwhereby the longest club in the set is capable of being accommodated,and the cover when brought over the head of the casing confines theclubs and thus the clubs are completely enclosed and protected againstweather and damage, both during play and in transit it being necessaryonly to open the cover when selecting and withdrawing a club orreplacing a club, the cover serving to maintain the heads in positionand prevent movement thereof.

The invention will now further be described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the invention, with the cover to thecasing being in the open position,

FIGURE 2 is a view looking in the direction of the line II in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side view of the carrier showing the upperpart of the casing with the casing in the closed position,

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to the view shown in FIGURE 2 but shows partonly of the casing, namely the upper part, with the cover removed fromthe casing,

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a view taken along line VI-VI in FIG- URE 5, and,

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the carrier with the cover in the openposition to reveal the supporting means including the recesses adaptedto accommodate the heads of the golf clubs to be contained in saidcarrier.

Referring to the drawings, a casing 1 as will be seen is an elongatedhollow casing which has situated at the top thereof the supporting meansfor golf clubs which means takes the form of a support surface 2 adaptedto be positioned in or on the upper part of the casing 1, with thesupport surface 2 having molded therein a plurality of recesses 3adapted to receive the heads of golf clubs. The supporting means 2 ismaintained in position by its securement to the casing 1 or by beingformed an integral part of the casing 1. The supporting means 2 havingformed therein the recesses 3 also contains apertures or holes or likeentries 4 into the interior of the casing 1, with the purpose of theentries 4 being to accommodate the shafts of golf clubs (not shown) whensupported by the supporting means 2 incorporated in the secondembodiment of this invention. Each hole or entry 4 is located near arecess 3 such that the combination of a recess 3 and its complementaryhole or entry 4 accommodates a golf club, with the hole or entry 4receiving the shaft of the golf club and the recess 3 receiving the headof the golf club. In a preferred arrangement as shown in the drawingsand particularly FIGURES 4-7, the entries 4 into the interior of thecasing 1 accommodate tubes 5 depending for the length of the casing 1and serving to separate the shafts of golf clubs.

It is preferred that the recesses 3 in the supporting means 2 are formedto accommodate specific clubs, and if reference is made to FIGURES 4-7,the recesses 3a intended to accommodate the woods are shapedaccordingly, and that the recesses 3b intended to accommodate the ironsare also shaped accordingly.

The supporting means 2 extends into an extension 6 of the supportingmeans, which extension 6 is accommodated by a part 7 projecting from theupper portion of the casing 1. This extension 6 of the supporting means2 conveniently accommodates the heads of the woods in tended to becarried in the carrier and, as will be seen from the drawings, theextension 6 accommodated by the projecting part 7 is placed at a levelhigher than that of the remainder of the supporting means 2 whichremaining means is intended to support the irons. This arrangementconveniently provides for ease in selecting a club, and also, theelevated location of the recesses 3a for the woods ensures that thecasing can accommodate the relatively longer lengths of the shafts ofthe Woods.

A cover 8 for the casing 1 is provided with the cover 8 being adapted tobe placed over the heads of the clubs and maintain the clubs in positionwith their heads resting in the appropriate recesses 3.

The cover 8 is hinged at 9 and provision is made for a staple and strapfastening means indicated by numeral 10. As will be seen from FIGURES 1,2, 3, and 7, the cover 8 is mounted on link members 11 hinged at 10.This arrangement together with the shape of the cover as shown inFIGURES 1, 2, 3, and 7 accommodates the configuration of the upper partof the casing 1 accommodating the supporting means 2.

The cover is provided with a ball holding member 12 which extendstransversely of and projects from the inner surface of the cover 8 withthe member 12 in its fastening to the cover 8 having a degree offlexibility whereby balls when pressed into the space between the cover8 and member 12', will be retained in said space yet be readilyavailable for use. Further, the cover 8 may be divided into two parts,is indicated by reference numerals 8a and 8b which parts are hingedtogether at 13 which hinging arrangement facilitates the opening andclosing of the cover 8 in relation to the casing 1 in that a certainamount of give or flexibility is provided to accommodate the particularconfiguration of the cover 8 and the complementary configuration of theupper part of the easing 1.

The casing 1 is provided with a handle, and further, incorporates apocket 14 and socket 15 suitable for holding an umbrella. The pocket 14when opened preferably provides access to the interior of the casing 1.The numeral 16 indicates a carrying handle for the carrier.

It will be appreciated that, although the drawings illustrate aparticular arrangement of the recesses 3 and entries 4 in the supportingmeans 2, when molding or otherwise forming the supporting means, otherdesired arrangements of the recesses 3 and their associated entries maybe chosen, particularly the arrangement of the recesses 3 intended toreceive the iron clubs, for instance, and referring to FIGURE 6, theentries 4 and recesses 3b may be arranged in a row adjacent that side ofthe casing below which is situated the pocket 14, the transverselyextending recess 3c shown, which is intended to hold a putting iron,being centrally disposed in relation to the remainder of the recesses 3.

I claim:

1. A carrier for golf clubs comprising a casing having situated at itsupper part a club supporting means provided with a plurality of recessesadapted to accommodate heads of clubs supported by the supporting means,the length of the casing being such that the casing is capable ofaccommodating the shafts of the golf clubs when the heads of the clubsare seated in the recesses, and means whereby the club heads whenaccommodated in their respective recesses are maintained in saidrecesses, said means being in the form of a cover for the casing, thecover being arranged so that when closed, it is capable of contactingthe heads of the clubs when seated in their recesses.

2. The carrier for golf clubs as claimed in claim 1 in which saidsupporting means includes an upper level and a lower level, the recessesprovided for the upper level accommodating the heads of wooden clubs andthe recesses for lower level accommodating the heads of iron clubs.

3. The carrier for golf clubs as claimed in claim 1 in which the casingis provided with a single compartment, said supporting means having anentry into the compartment adjacent each recess for receiving the shaftof the club accommodated in the adjacent recess, and a tube affixed toeach entry extending into the compartment for receiving the shaftthereby separating the shafts.

4. The carrier for golf clubs as claimed in claim 1 in which said coveris hingeably mounted to said casing and includes two hingedly connectedparts thereby facilitating the opening and closing of the cover inrelation to the casing.

5. The carrier for golf clubs as claimed in claim 4 in which one of saidparts is provided with a ball holding member which extends transverselyof and projects from the inner surface of said one part.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATIENTS 2,534,096 12/ 1950 Zapoleon.2,763,309 9/1956 Jones. 2,897,864 8/ 1959 Schmidt. 2,938,559 5/1960Harkrader.

FOREIGN PATENTS 323,902 1/ 1930 Great Britain. 345,825 4/1931 GreatBritain.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner

